#my contract obliges me to teach only to the last week of instruction

[theresa-of-liechtenstein]

grrrr it’s annoying when students act like they’re entitled to you

[helisol]

:)

again not a finished fic but very extensive notes, this one’s a chonker, 4k words

tl;dr: take it a ds9 but make it into high fantasy wizards. garashir, kiradax and quodo. we’ve got it all here folks.

SO BASICALLY 

I read a book about a young witch apprentice in a world where every magician has a ~special name~ based on an object/plant/animal they’re spiritually connected to.

then I watched ds9 and got introduced to the concept of cardassians being lizards.

the result- wizard lizard.

So Garak “The Lizard” is a mage that got exiled from his home country and ended up taking a pretty neat job in a rural area of a larger empire where being a wizard is Cool and Widely Accepted. 

his duties include keeping the villages around his tower safe, looking for young mages to turn into apprentices, and sometimes making clothes because he’s Still A Tailor.

however, because of his chronic “i no wanna work” disease, this lizard has not actually been looking around the villages near him for magically gifted children. shame on him. 

because through his negligence Julian Bashir, young village doctor, grew up without even knowing that he can do ~magic~

but he soon finds out when his town gets attacked by a Big Evil Magic Monster. The Lizard is taking his sweet time to come to their rescue and Julian can’t just sit by and watch innocent people get mauled by a Chimera or Giant Mantis.

So Julian does the heroic thing and jumps inbetween a wounded child and the monster in the exact second Garak shows up.

And he gets to watch as Julian unleashes some Magic for the first time.

Then Garak Kind Of Abducts Julian So He Can Teach Him Magic

Garak is contractually obligated and allowed to take on anyone who is capable of magic as an apprentice, and he finds Julian’s magic interesting enough to invoke that contract now. Not Julian himself though. Only his magic. for now.

Julian- for like, the first week- is NOT OKAY with being teleported into a tower fortress by a wizard he finds intimidating and scary, and he loudly protests when Garak actually starts to teach him magic spells.

However, this is Julian, and he *is* intrigued by the thought of being able to use magic For Doing Good.

So one night he admits defeat and slinks up to the tower and goes “Okay. Compromise. Teach me healing magic.”

To which Garak is like 👀 “Okay.”

They start having regular magic lessons mostly focused on healing, which Julian is just naturally good at. So they move on to other things. Which Julian is Not naturally good at.

And he becomes very frustrated.

Garak tries to assuage him and says that he doesn’t have to be accomplished in every single field and discipline- which is logically true- but Julian is having none of it since Garak is accomplished in every field.

In a fit of anger Julian unleashes emotional magic again and breaks some of Garak’s things. Books, vials, a desk, nothing super major. But Julian is still surprised and shocked at himself for causing trouble like this and he Runs Away. Straight up exits stage left.

And Garak, who just got flung against the wall by his little apprentice, just rushes to the window and looks as Julian runs away and he is. Disappointed.

Next we have Julian returning home and everyone is like "Doctor!!! You were gone for half a year???" And Julian is like "I thought I was only gone for a month at most-"

Yeah the joke is time flies when you’re having fun because Julian *did* have fun living with Garak. He doesn’t regret leaving though, after all Garak was probably furious after he wrecked his study he wasn’t.

So Julian says to himself "Hmph. I'll just stay home for a week. Garak will hardly notice I'm gone. And then I can make it up to him."

But Then He Stays For A Whole Month

He has to instruct a new doctor to take over the nearby villages, do some paperwork, help some sick people, practice some magic on his own- and at the end of the month He Doesn’t Want To Stay Any Longer.

He’s always been different from the other village people, and now he finally got a taste of what it’s like to have someone help you to achieve your potential and widen your horizon and he *doesn’t* want to give that up for a boring but busy country life.

So back to the tower it is. Julian arrives, the place is kind of messy, and when he finds Garak he is in his study. on the floor. a little drunk, definitely sad, and Very Surprised To See Him.

Here we get a scene where Garak tipsily tells Julian how much he’s grown to appreciate him, not just for his magic talent, but as a person- and that he’s missed him.

But The Next Morning Garak Does Not Remember

And he's just like "Oh Julian. Youre back. I'd almost forgotten about you."

For a second Julian wants to punch a wall because *Yesterday You Told Me You Missed Me*, but then he just Smiles. settles for what they have right now. and asks Garak to continue teaching him magic.

so they go on. and have. so many gay moments.

And then Garak gets told to attend some kind of magic council meeting/banquet.

Julian says something along the lines of "Oh well, guess I'll stay home. You know, protect the fort. Practice magic." but he's a little sad about it.

But garak just goes "Hmm No. I'm taking you with me"

"What-" "I'm introducing you as my apprentice to the magic council." "W h a t-" "Oh also you need pretty clothes for this so I'm gonna make you some. Since you’re a commoner with no actual taste." "W H A T-"

So garak makes a really nice suit for Julian and for himself they match and they go to the Cool Wizard Banquet.

At which Julian meets a lot of wizards and witches and he's like "Wow this is so exciting!" but he also realises he is a Total Country Bumpkin And Noob compared to these people and their apprentices.

He also hears that Apparently the Local Wizard of every region is supposed to do a 5-yearly sweep of the surrounding towns to check for kids that have magic potential and then send them to Magic School/take them in as their apprentice directly.

And Garak. Did not do that.

He was Lazy and Angery. Exile will do that to you.

Julian isn’t too happy when he learns about this and he walks out of the banquet hall into the garden- to where Garak follows him.

"So just because you were all bitchy about having to follow this country's rules about magic you let me grow up not knowing my full potential? How many of my childhood friends might be able to do magic if they tried?"

“I was in a really bad place back then."

"SO WHAT? Things are okay now because you found me? If you had been two minutes early during that attack you wouldnt even know I could use magic!"

"...but I *wasn’t* early!"

So Julian just throws up his hands in frustration and leaves to get away from Garak for a while.

The next day he mingles more with the other apprentices and they exchange Ideas and Skills and also Gossip about their teachers.

Some of the apprentices suggest that Julian could go to magic school for a while before applying for a *new* teacher, since obviously Garak did him wrong.

This doesn’t sound like a bad idea, so he talks with some older mages and most of them are friendly and are like “Oh yeah, sure, we’d love to take you in.”

But then it turns out a lot of people are talking behind his back about how much of an outlier he is.

(wizard culture is like 50% magic and 50% gossip)

So Julian is standing on a balcony and down below he hears a group of Douche Wizards discussing his inadequacies.

And it kinda makes Julian feel like absolute shit, so his powers go wobbly again. But then enter stage right: Garak

Who properly puts those wizards into their rightful place like "Say one more bad thing about my apprentice and I’ll blast your punk ass back to Romulus. You should KNOW the reason why I dont usually take apprentices, but here you are anyway saying he has no power. He has more power in his pinky than all of you combined."

Turns out there’s an extra layer to Why Garak didn’t do the "Check for Magicians in your Area" thing- it’s because he openly has no interest in training or working with anyone who isnt Special or Powerful.

Which means Julians happens to be. very special. and very powerful.

And hearing that from Garak makes him go 😳

His emotions are running high and he starts *floating*. Probably the worst thing to do on a first floor balcony out of All The Things To Do On A First Floor Balcony.

So he’s Floating and he doesnt know how to make that Stop.

He panics, starts falling and basically crashes right into Garaks arms.

"Oh great, youre right on time. We're leaving."

"What? But the banquet lasts for a week?" also I'm still a little mad but also a little in love with you?

But Garak has already teleported them back to the tower before he can really argue.

Anyway Julian is upset about many things overall, but mostly that he didnt get to dance. He practiced a lot in his off time.

Thank God Garak Knows This 

"...I know how to make magic music. Let’s have a little fun at least."

They dance and Julian starts floating *again*.

Garak 👀’s @ Julian floating "Okay I’ve been recording most of your emotion based powers. This is new."

Julian just Floats Higher out of embarrassment, so garak is like ‘well I'll just join him up there.’

So he does and Julian is like “WHY CAN YOU DO THAT. SHOW ME HOW TO DO THAT. HOW CAN I CONTROL THIS."

Turns out his emotions are too unclear, which makes his magic unbalanced, so really all they have to do is get him some Clarity.

Garak is like "Well one very easy way to do that is-" and then they kiss in the air. Floating. because I’m gay and I will use gay magic tropes as I see fit.

so that’s the garashir side of things, on to kiradax

There's Some Slow Burn In There

Basically Kira is a mage, but instead of using magic to fight she just Enchants Swords/Arrows/Other Weapons.

Because she fought in a wizard war and when there's not a lot of mana potions to go around you have to get creative.

She didn’t get a proper magician name because she was actually never anyone’s apprentice, but people still call her The Blade because she is just so cool.

Anyway in this universe mages age very slowly, and Kira is probably around 60 years old when she meets Jadzia. Which is not a lot in wizard years.

She does feels a little inadequate about being so Young and Inexperienced she didn’t really expect nor wanted to run into the legendary Jadzia Dax who everyone thinks is like 300 years old, maybe more.

So meeting someone who is her complete opposite just makes her go "Hmph. I dont wanna associate with you." 

But Jadzia keeps popping in randomly around her almost every day until Kira snaps like "WHAT is your problem???"

“I never learned how to enchant tools."

"What."

"Can you teach me?"

"The great Dax has never enchanted a single tool or weapon?"

"I took care of everything with other types of magic. Will you teach me?"

So Kira Nerys, The Blade, the person everyone looked down on because she uses enchanted tools instead of magic for everything- is being asked by this legendary mage to teach her something. What an honor. What an incredible thing.

But She Says No

So Jadzia keeps bothering her every day.

But eventually bothering her turned into "Hey wanna get some coffee? Wanna go to the library with me? Can I look at you while youre in the smithy? Do you wanna look at me while I come up with new magic formulas? Wanna get drunk together and maybe kiss but definitely have no recollection of it in the morning?"

- over a span of 10 years.

But at the end of those 10 years Jadzia still hasnt learned how to enchant tools.

And it takes One day at the magic banquet for Nerys to actually realise the Implications of that.

It’s the third banquet they've been to- together, as each other’s plus one.

They color coordinate their robes and wear matching accessoires. The works.

And Kira decides that now is the day to grill her Totally-Not-Girlfriend about the reason why she sticks around.

"You could have just gotten someone else to teach you how to enchant things."

"Why would I need anyone to teach me, I have you to enchant things *for me*."

"No but before I started doing it for you. Like the whole first five years of knowing me."

"Oh well I didn’t want anyone else because I was very much infatuated with you."

And Kira just bluescreens. Error 404 nerys.exe not found.

Until she catches herself.

"You...*were* infatuated with me?"

"Yes? You obviously never saw me that way though. So I stuck around for the good company and the coffee."

Now you see over the course of 10 years Kira’s irritation about Jadzia slowly turned into Something Else. But she thought Jadzia only saw her as a friend.

On the other hand Jadzia definitely had feelings from the start, but because kira was in Denial she didnt act on those feelings.

If I were a shitty writer or- god foirbid- *Straight*, I would have there be a miscommunication right about now and prolong their useless lesbian suffering.

But I’m not.

Basically Kira just goes 

"Okay but when you say *were* attracted to me does that mean you *stopped*?"

"Uh. No?"

"Cool. Excuse me, I need a moment."

So she tries to hide from this sudden revelation and her feelings in a hedge maze, but there’s no use hiding from Jadzia.

 Who, instead of just walking around the labyrinth to find her like a normal person, basically whacks down the bushes in a straight line until she reaches Kira.

"THERE YOU ARE! I used this completely unenchanted sword to get to you and tell you I definitely still like you. Now will you PLEASE teach me how to enchant tools as your first courting gift?"

And Kira is like "God yes you dumbass-" and they kiss.

now wizard quodo is funny because I kind of started this part as a joke but then it all got Serious

First of all Quark is Actually A Really Powerful Magician.

But what does he do with his great power?

Move from his home country to the city of wizards and open a bar.

Because he is still fundamentally *Quark*.

And Odo is still fundamentally Odo, because he is a Shapeshifting Alien From Actual Outer Space You Know.

He still went through the whole "I was studied by scientists (wizards) and couldnt let them know I was sentient for a long time which made me very grouchy and lonely" thing.

So Odo spends like ~100 years going from captivity/being an object of scientific study to living as a guard in the city of wizards.

Basically everyone thinks that Odo cant use magic- including Odo- because, well, he’s a bunch of slime that came from a meteor.

Then he meets Quark, powerful wizard and bartender.

And he has *no* idea who he is.

Only that he’s the guy who runs that one shady gambling bar and is involved in some illegal business.

And Quark is like "Ah finally. A worthy opponent."

So he and Quark have the same vibe as on DS9- where Quark keeps doing illegal stuff and Odo tries to stop him and the universe decides to say enemies to lovers 400k words slowburn.

And one day Quark gets into some Seriously shady business with some people who are now very aggressively demanding Quark give them their money back

and they're. you know. threatening violence.

Odo shows up and right before this one dude is about to straight up sucker punch Quark he's like "HALT!" and Wow He Made A Magic Happen.

Now. Because Quark is Indebted to Odo. He is expected to take him on as his magic apprentice.

At first he is Not Down For That. They both aren’t. So even though technically they are teacher and apprentice they both just refuse to work together.

Until Odo goes to check up on Quark one day- because as we all know he makes it a point to drop by his bar four times a day just to let him know he's thinking about him- and Quark is in trouble again.

Only this time Odo is like "I'm not gonna help him. I dont even know how I *could* help him. Since he hasn’t taught me any magic, the bastard."

So he wants to just pass by and leave when Quark basically starts to just Demolish these people with magic in a frightening and totally not impressive display.

MIND YOU Quark is still generally incompetent. If this was D&D he'd have like, very low skill points but unlimited spell slots.

Anyway Odo goes 👀

Because him being unable to use magic in a country/city where everyone he *knows* can use magic has always made him feel bad.

So he goes to Quark like "Okay. I changed my mind. Please teach me magic."

And Quark tries to teach Odo magic, earnestly. 

And Odo tries to learn magic from Quark, for real. 

But the key word here is *try*.

Because neither is very good at what theyre *trying* to do.

Odo didn’t Really want to learn from Quark and that's pretty much the reason why Quark doesnt Really want to teach Odo. But They Try.

There’s a lot of fights and arguments and "You’re not doing it right" vs "You’re not explaining it right"

But hey, at least Odo can now do some magic, which makes his guard job a lot easier.

He also gets to socialise more with other wizards and their apprentices, and he becomes a generally happier pile of humanoid goo!

Meanwhile Quark slowly but surely turns into a more Respected wizard. And his bar also becomes a bit more respectable as well.

it's almost like,,they both wanna be,,,,their best selves,,

and learning to work together has Somehow set them on the right path,,,

idk man sounds kinda gay,,,,

But then the banquet rolls around.

Quark is like "Oh fuck I Have to take Odo to this social function because hes my apprentice and thems are the rules."

and Odo is like "Oh fuck I Have to attend this social function with Quark because thems the rules."

The vibe they’re both getting is- "It's all fun and games when we're by ourselves but Somehow acting friendly in public feels Wrong." 

So they agree to Arrive together and then split up and spend as little time as possible together lest they fall victim to some kind of *feeling*.

And like all plans that Odo and Quark make it works out brilliantly for Exactly 5 Minutes.

Because while Quark is talking to his accomplished and very boring wizard acquaintances he kinda realises "God I wish Odo were here-"

And as Odo is talking to all these annoying ass apprentices he kinda realises "God I wish Quark was here-"

So that's what they do on the first day of the banquet. and the second. and the third. 

They just keep only seeing each other from the corner of their eyes but dont really get to talk/argue about anything and it's making them feel Not So Good, Actually

Now the fourth day is the kicker.

Because while Odo is talking to some people he gets tapped on the shoulder and there he is! The worst father on this side of the galaxy! Doctor Mora- but like, as a wizard scientist.

"Oh my god Odo? You’re here? How did you manage that? You can’t use magic dont be silly! *I* studied you and who would know you better than me? What? *you* know yourself better? Nonsense, now walk with me- how have you been :)?"

Obviously Odo is getting Very distressed but he can't exactly say No, so he walks around with Mora.

They sit down near a fountain and his ‘father’ just starts grilling Odo about what he's been up to.

And eventually they start talking about Quark

"Wait, *Quark*? The absolute magic failure who runs that disgusting establishment? That Quark?"

"Well I wouldnt put it like that, he’s not-"

But Mora goes on- "Oh no my dear boy that won't do! You have to learn from a *good* wizard. Like me! Dont you want that? Oh I'm sure you want that. That nasty good for nothing will resign as your teacher first thing tomorrow!"

And Odo is like "Now wait a minute, Quark might have his flaws, but-"

"There! See, you admitted it. He's flawed. He can't possibly be a good teacher for you. But I would be! I *raised* you."

But Odo is getting Rather Angy right about now.

"Well you did a pretty bad job raising me considering you didnt even know I could do magic until now."

"I can’t believe it. Quark is such a bad influence on you. You never used to talk back at me. This is what happens when you hang around with people who dont know you like I do."

Then something in him snaps and Odo just goes Off on Mora.

"MAYBE *YOU* DONT KNOW *HIM* LIKE I DO!"

And he basically breaks the fountain theyre sitting at with some accidental emotional magic.

So after Mora goes "...I better get someone to fix that-" and runs off, Odo is standing in front of this broken fountain and thinks about how this might be a cruel metaphor for his life. And then the worst possible thing happens.

He Spots Quark Badly Hidden Behind A Pillar

Internally he just goes 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA' 

Externally though it’s more like "How much of that did you hear???"

Quark’s trying to lighten the mood with a "Haha well it's hard to avoid hearing things with lobes as big as mine!" 

But Odo is not playing, so he breaks the fountain some more. As intimidation.

So Quark goes "Okay. Alright. I heard all the parts where you defended my honor. Now move aside."

And Odo goes 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAA' inside again, so he doesnt really move but just gets nudged aside by Quark.

Who returns the fountain back to its previous state.

Things are nice and silent for a second but then Quark disturbs the moment by saying "Okay now, real talk- you want another teacher, is that right?"

So Odos head whips up and he goes "No??? What the fuck quark. I thought you listened to that conversation. Youre the only one I want-"

and he Immediately slaps a hand over his mouth because Oh God That Came Out Wrong-

But Quark is just Laughing and being his usual little shit self like "Haha good one, let's go back inside now. (where the social conventions will force us to remain apart so we dont have to confront what you just said.)"

on the inside though- Quark is just as 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA' as Odo

"I absolutely Cannot go inside and socialise right now, I’ve had Quite enough of that." 

"Oh...well then...i'll leave you be?"

"No don’t-"

So Odo quickly grabs Quark’s hand (and Quark just fuckin uh dies on the spot) but he's not very communicative at the moment. So Quark kinda has to just interpret that for himself.

"Aaaaalright- let’s just take a walk then."

So they walk through the rose garden. holding *hands*. and Quark points out nice or interesting things while Odo just nods or hums in agreement.

Until they’ve come full circle and end up back at the fountain, where Quark is like "Okay. Wanna go back inside *now*?" 

Because he swears if they spend one more second like this he will HAVE to kiss this pile of space goo and he’d rather Odo make that decision for him.

And Odo is like "I just want to stay with you."

So Quark is like ‘Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool’, pulls them behind a hedge and kisses Odo.

because on GOD I enjoy the “going from an argument straight into kissing” trope, but that one is actually too on brand for quodo so I HAD to change it up.

[concentrateandpush]

Like Mother, Like Daughter

At 38 weeks pregnant, Kat didnt really want to travel all the way across town to her extended families home, but it was a family gathering and they'd been invited so she felt obliged to go. It's around about an hour and three quarter drive and with Joe's company, it would surely pass time. She barely fits behind the wheel and gets tired super quick so Joe offered to drive the car, plus this would give Kat time to read her birthing plan for the thousandth time.

Only having to stop 7 times for Kat to pee, they finally arrive at the house gathering. Joe, the gentleman that he is, opens the door and supports Kat to get out. As they walk in they get the usual comments "One baby?! Surely it's wrong, you're huge!", "You look like you can barely walk!" Oh and Kats favourite "You just look like you need to lay down". Despite sitting down for the whole trip, Kat is exhausted and just needs a lay down and her aunt escorts her to where they'll be sleeping, the bed looks super comfy and Kat cant resist taking a nap in it.

Just like any family gathering, there has to be an argument. Kat wakes up to the sound of shouting and a sharp pain in her lower abdomen, she decides to get up and expects the pain wont happen again and goes downstairs to see what the problem is. Amongst all of the arguing, she notices that her cousin Anna is crying.

"What's going on Anna?" Kat questions.

"I messed everything up, they're all mad at me and now I have nothing, Callum left me this morning and now they want me out" Anna cried.

"Why? Why are they angry with you?" Kat asks whilst tucking a stray of hair behind Anna's ear.

"I f*cked up ok. I didn't think missing one pill would cause this, Callum never used condoms anyway, I just thought that if I took it most of the time -" Anna stops mid sentence and cries into her hands.

"Sweetheart, are you pregnant?" Kat asks softly, followed by a shy nod from Anna. Kat instantly grabs Anna and holds her tight in a warm reassuring embrace. "You're going to be fine, whatever it is that you want to do I'll look after you, you know that!" Kat assures her.

"They think that because I'm young I cant look after my own baby, it's my baby not theirs, I wont do anything wrong and il try my best and -" Anna snaps.

"Anna, sweetheart, you dont need to convince me that you can be a good parent, in fact, I think you'd be a great mom, age is irrelevant, yes? Now, own what you want and tell them you're keeping your own baby" Kat instructs Anna carefully. At this point Kat is feeling upset and somewhat nostalgic. After all, she remembers being that age and falling pregnant herself, she didnt have the support that she needed like she could provide for Anna.

Suddenly, Anna's mom runs up to Kat and screams "This is your fault, you bread it into her that you can have sex at any age and it be fine". Kat sharply replies "She's of legal age Mandy, she can do whatever she wants". Enraged, Mandy replies "You set off the cycle, you know you were her age when you got pregnant the first time". "You were pregnant before?" Anna asks, feeling almost safer because someone else had been through it that she could talk to. Ignoring Anna, Kat screams at Mandy "Yes I set of the cycle, I gave birth to the most perfect daughter 16 years ago and she was ripped off my chest and put into the arms of a -" Kat feels a familiar stabbing pain in her lower abdomen "Get Joe, please, go get him" Mandy sends Anna to fetch Joe and whispers "You would never have been able to take care of Anna the way I have, I've given her everything and more. I am not having her make the same mistakes you made".

Joe runs over and settles Kat "What's going on? Is the baby coming?" He asks, looking at Kats, now red, face. "Yeah, he's coming, I need to talk to Anna" she mutters as breathes through the pain slowly. "Are we telling her?" Joe asks, "She deserves to know. I'm bringing her home with us Joe, she wants to keep her baby and I know Mandy won't let her, shes too - nghh, crap I need to get to a hospital".

Joe calmly says to Kat "Okay sweetheart, we have time, your waters are still intact, lets just breathe this through and we can calm down and talk with Anna first".

"Talk with me about what?" Anna anxiously questions. "Okay, Anna, 17 years ago when I just met Joe, we were young and naive and we didnt know much about anything, we knew we loved eachother, we truly did, we decided we were ready to have sex and I wasnt on birth control yet, but we just thought one time would be fine" Kat stops because shes now having one contraction on top of the other and Anna, almost knowing where this was going asks "What does that have to do with me Kat?" Mandy listening in shouts "You better not tell her Kat, I'll f*cking kill you, I swear". Anxious to say anything, Kat gets the courage to say something shes wanted to say her whole life "Anna, the baby I give birth to all those years ago, was you and I want you to come with me, back to our home, you can keep your baby and we can help you raise it, if that's what you want, you'll see your mom whenever you want to, I'll never be your mom, but just a mentor, a guide of sorts".

"You f*cking whore, you're vile, you couldn't just let it be could you, get out of this house, get out of my life, I dont want you around here" Mandy pushes Kat towards the door and with the last nudge, Kat feels a warm, slimy liquid form in the crotch of her jeans, "Joe, my waters" she panics. "I'm coming, wait, I'm coming too" Anna runs out having grabbed her essentials.

Kat is labouring slowly and is in a state of panic, she feels most comfortable on all fours however, the concrete path to Mandy's home doesnt feel as soft as she would like. "Come on Kat, let's get in the car, you can go in the back and lay down, let's get to the hospital" said Joe, "I'll help you, I need to learn how this works anyway" said Anna.

Laying in the back of the car on a make shift blanket cushion that Joe put together, Kat is panting as fast as seems possible with Anna guiding her "In and out, in and out, hee hoo hee hoo". Joe watches from the front of the car as they drive down the motorway, both of them feel the baby must be born in the hospital they've gone to throughout the pregnancy. "Do you know what dilation is?" Kat asks Anna wishfully thinking, Anna replies "No but teach me". "Put your fingers inside me, see how many fit in comfortably, do you mind? If you dont want to, just say" Kat says, but with out a second thought Anna inserts her fingers and says "They all go in, you're open wide, I think the head is close".

Joe panics as he knows this means baby is close to being delivered, "Okay sweetheart, am I going to deliver this baby? Or am I putting my foot down until we get home" he asks. "Nggggggh, I cant, hee hoo hee hoo" Kat says whilst trying to give the best answer she can. "Just keep driving, I'm here" says Anna.

They drive a further 10 miles until Kat is clearly overwhelmed, "Joe pull over I need you" she instructs. The car windows are covered with steam and theres a musky scent through out the car. Joe jumps in the back and Anna stands behind and watches as he feels around the head confidently, "You've got a few pushes and you're going to crown, you're definitely fully dialated" Joe says.

After pushing for a good half hour, Kat is now dripping with sweat, shes a bright pinky red all over and is in tremendous amounts of pain "nghhh ahh I cant do this, ahhh ooooh" she screams "I'm not strong enough in this position, I need to squat, the head is stuck here" she quickly jumps up despite her bulbous figure and suddenly becomes in full control "Honey I need you to rub around the head to loosen me up, get me something I can put around the seats to pull on so I can push as hard as possible. Anna, sweetheart, come here and hold me back so I dont tip forward, I need to get her out".

"Nggggggh ohhh, oooohh OOHH, f*ck she's crowning right? You can see the head right?" Moans Kat.

Joe replies with a crying tone "Yes, her head is peeking, you're doing amazing, just carry on going, push baby, harder.. there we go harder again, Kat, Harder!".

Whilst all this is happening Anna is realising this is her in her foreseeable future, seeing her biological mother do this to her sibling empowers her to feel she can do this, she can push her baby out too.

"I cant. Get the. The head isnt coming. Ngggh. The head is stuck I'm telling you, I cant ah errh NGHH" Kat huffs and puffs, until eventually the head pops out and is touching the car seat, she becomes so tired of this position and decides to swap again. Lying on her back this time, she has one foot on each headrest and Joe is sat in the front ready to catch the baby.

"Okay just the shoulders now sweety, that's all you have left and she's here with us, she has your hair, keep doing what you're doing Kat, push come on, bare down as hard as you can now, it's the last big push" Joe cheers her on as she holds Anna's hand and squeezes it tighter and tighter.

"Oh f*ck, she's coming down, I can feel the. Crap. Oh god. Nggggggh, hoo hoo hoo hoo, ahhhhhh" Kat cries whilst panting and then out comes her baby with pints of amniotic fluid, 11 pound 8 ounces. Kat and Joe cry whilst holding their brand new baby and they look up at Anna who softly says "Um Kat, would you deliver my baby for me?".

[torixus]

History of St. Pachomius a Bishop who Founded Communal Monasticism

Though St. Antony be justly esteemed the institutor of the cenobitic life, or that of religious persons living in community under a certain rule, St. Pachomius was the first who drew up a monastic rule in writing. He was born in Upper Thebais about the year 292, of idolatrous parents, and was educated in their blind superstition, and in the study of the Egyptian sciences. From his infancy, he was meek and modest, and had an aversion to the profane ceremonies used by the infidels in the worship of their idols. Being about twenty years of age, he was pressed into the emperor's troops, probably the tyrant Maximinus, who was master of Egypt from the year 310; and in 312 made great levies to carry on a war against Licinius and Constantine. He was, with several other recruits, put on board a vessel that was falling down the river. They arrived in the evening at Thebes, or Diospolis, the capital of Thebais, a city in which dwelt many Christians. Those true disciples of Christ sought every  opportunity of relieving and comforting all that were in distress, and were moved with compassion towards the recruits, who were kept close confined, and very ill-treated. The Christians of this city showed them the same tenderness as if they had been their own children; took all possible care of them, and supplied them liberally with money and necessaries.

Such an uncommon example of disinterested virtue made a great impression on the mind of Pachomius. He inquired who their pious benefactors were, and when he heard that they believed in Jesus Christ the only Son of God, and that in the hope of a reward in the world to come, they labored continually to do good to all mankind, he found kindled in his heart a great love of so holy a law, and an ardent desire of serving the God whom these good men adored. The next day, when he was continuing his journey down the river, the remembrance of this purpose strengthened him to resist a carnal temptation. From his infancy he had been always a lover of chastity and temperance but the example of the Christians had made those virtues appear to him far more amiable, and in a new light.

After the overthrow of Maximinus, his forces were disbanded. Pachomius was no sooner returned home, but he repaired to a town in Thebais, in which there was a Christian church, and there he entered his name among the catechumens, or such as were preparing for baptism; and having gone through the usual course of preliminary instructions and practices with great attention and fervor, he received that sacrament at Chenoboscium, with great sentiments of piety and devotion. From his first acquaintance with our holy faith at Thebes, he had always made this his prayer: "O God, Creator of heaven and earth, cast on me an eye of pity: deliver me from my miseries: teach me the true way of pleasing you, and it shall be the whole employment, and most earnest study of my life to serve you, and to do your will." The perfect sacrifice of his heart to God, was the beginning of his eminent virtue. The grace by which God reigns in a soul, is a treasure infinitely above all price. We must give all to purchase it. To desire it faintly is to undervalue it. He is absolutely disqualified and unfit for so great a blessing, and unworthy ever to receive it, who seeks it by halves, or who does not esteem all other things as dung that he may gain Christ.

When Pachomius was baptized, he began seriously to consider with himself how he should most faithfully fulfil the obligations which he had contracted, and attain to the great end to which he aspired. There is danger even in fervor itself. It is often an artifice of the devil to make a novice undertake too much at first, and run indiscreetly beyond his strength. If the sails gather too much wind, the vessel is driven ahead, falls on some rock and splits. Eagerness is a symptom of secret passion, not of true virtue, where it is wilful and impatient at advice. Pachomius was far from so dangerous a disposition, because his desire was pure, therefore his first care was to find a skilful conductor.

Hearing that a venerable old man named Palemon, served God in the desert in great perfection, he sought him out, and with great earnestness begged to live under his direction. The hermit having set before him the difficulties and austerities of his way of life, which several had already attempted in vain to follow, advised him to make a trial of his strength and fervor in some monastery; and, to give him a sketch of the difficulties he had to encounter in the life he aspired to, he added: "Consider, my son, that my diet is only bread and salt: I drink no wine, use no oil, watch one half of the night, spending that time in singing psalms or in meditating on the holy scriptures, and sometimes pass the whole night without sleeping." Pachomius was amazed at this account, but not discouraged. He thought himself able to undertake every thing that might be a means to render his soul pleasing to God, and readily promised to observe whatever Palemon should think fit to enjoin him; who thereupon admitted him into his cell, and gave him the monastic habit. Pachomius was by his example enabled to bear solitude, and an acquaintance with himself. They sometimes repeated together the psalter, at other times they exercised themselves in manual labors (which they accompanied with interior prayer,) with a view to their own subsistence and the relief of the poor. Pachomius prayed above all things, for perfect purity of heart, that being disengaged from all secret attachment to creatures, he might love God with all his affections. And to destroy the very roots of all inordinate passions, it was his first study to obtain the most profound humility, and perfect patience and meekness. He prayed often with his arms stretched out in the form of a cross; which posture was then much used in the church. He was in the beginning often drowsy at the night office. Palemon used to rouse him, and say: "Labor and watch, my dear Pachomius, lest the enemy overthrow you and ruin all your endeavors." Against this weakness and temptation he enjoined him, on such occasions, to carry sand from one place to another, till his drowsiness was overcome. By this means the novice strengthened himself in the habit of watching. Whatever instructions he read or heard, he immediately endeavored fervently to reduce to practice.

One Easter-day Palemon bade the disciple prepare a dinner for that great festival. Pachomius took a little oil, and mixed it with the salt, which he pounded small, and added a few wild herbs, which they were to eat with their bread. The holy old man having made his prayer, came to table; but at the sight of the oil he struck himself on the forehead, and said, with tears: "My Saviour was crucified, and shall I indulge myself so far as to eat oil?" Nor could he be prevailed upon to taste it.

Pachomius used sometimes to go into a vast uninhabited desert, on the banks of the Nile, called Tabenna, in the diocese of Tentyra, a city between the Great and Little Diospolis. While he was there one day in prayer, he heard a voice which commanded him to build a monastery in that place, in which he should receive those who should be sent by God to serve him faithfully. He received, about the same time, from an angel who appeared to him, certain instructions relating to a monastic life.. Pachomius going back to Palemon, imparted to him this vision; and both of them coming to Tabenna, built there a little cell towards the year 325, about twenty years after St. Antony had founded his first monastery. After a short time, Palemon returned to his former dwelling, having promised his disciple a yearly visit, but he died soon after, and is honored in the Roman Martyrology on the 11th of January.

Pachomius received first his own eldest brother John, and after his death many others, so that he enlarged his house; and the number of his monks in a short time amounted to a hundred. Their clothing was of rough linen; that of St. Pachomius himself often haircloth. He passed fifteen years without ever lying down, taking his short rest sitting on a stone. He even grudged himself the least time which he allowed to necessary sleep, because he wished he could have been able to employ all his moments in the actual exercises of divine love. From the time of his conversion he never ate a full meal. By his rule, the fasts and tasks of work were proportioned to every one's strength; though all are together in one common refectory, in silence, with their cowl or hood drawn over their heads, that they might not see one another at their meals. Their habit was a tunic of white linen without sleeves, with a cowl of the same stuff; they wore on their shoulders a white goatskin, called a Melotes. They received the holy communion on the first and last days of every week. Novices were tried with great severity before they were admitted to the habit, the taking of which was then deemed the monastic profession, and attended with the vows. St. Pachomius preferred none of his monks to holy orders, and his monasteries were often served by priests from abroad, though he admitted priests, when any presented themselves, to the habit, and he employed them in  the functions of their ministry. All his monks were occupied in various kinds of manual labor: no moment was allowed for idleness. The saint, with the greatest care, comforted and served the sick himself. Silence was so strictly observed at Tabenna, that a monk, who wanted any thing necessary, was only to ask for it by signs. In going from one place to another, the monks were ordered always to meditate on some passage of the holy scripture, and sing psalms at their work. The sacrifice of the mass was offered for every monk that died, as we read in the life of St. Pachomius. His rule was translated into Latin by St. Jerome, and is still extant. He received the sickly and weak, rejecting none for the want of corporal strength, being desirous to conduct to heaven all souls which had fervor to walk in the paths of perfection. He built six other monasteries in Thebias, not far asunder, and from the year 336, chose often to reside in that of Pabau, or Pau, near Thebes, in its territory, though not far from Tabenna, situated in the neighboring province of Diospolis, also in Thebais. Pabau became a more numerous and more famous monastery than Tabenna itself. By the advice of Serapion, bishop of Tentyra, he built a church in a village for the benefit of the poor shepherds, in which for some time he performed the office of Lector, reading to the people the word of God with admirable fervor; in which function he appeared rather like an angel than a man. He converted many infidels, and zealously opposed the Arians, but could never be induced by his bishop to receive the holy order of priesthood. In 333, he was favored with a visit of St. Athanasius at Tabenna. His sister, at a certain time, came to his monastery desiring to see him; but he sent her word at the gate, that no woman could be allowed to enter his enclosure, and that she ought to be satisfied with hearing that he was alive. However, it being her desire to embrace a religious state, he built her a nunnery on the other side of the Nile, which was soon filled with holy virgins. St. Pachomius going one day to Pane, one of his monasteries, met the funeral procession of a tepid monk deceased. Knowing the wretched state in which he died and to strike a terror into the slothful, he forbade his monks to proceed in singing psalms, and ordered the clothes which covered the corpse to be burnt, saying: "Honors could only increase his torments; but the ignominy with which his body was treated, might move God to show more mercy to his soul; for God forgives some sins not only in this world, but also in the next." When the procurator of the house had sold the mats at market at a higher price than the saint had bid him, he ordered him to carry back the money to the buyers, and chastised him for his avarice.

Among many miracles wrought by him, the author of his life assures us, that though he had never learned the Greek or Latin tongues, he sometimes miraculously spoke them; he cured the sick and persons possessed by devils with blessed oil. But he often told sick or distressed persons, that their sickness or affliction was an effect of the divine goodness in their behalf; and he only prayed for their temporal comfort, with this clause or condition, if it should not prove hurtful to their souls. His dearest disciple, St. Theodorus, who after his death succeeded him in the government of his monasteries, was afflicted with a perpetual headache. St. Pachomius, when desired by some of the brethren to pray for his health, answered: "Though abstinence and prayer be of great merit, yet sickness, suffered with patience, is of much greater." He chiefly begged of God the spiritual health of the souls of his disciples and others, and took every opportunity to curb and heal their passions, especially that of pride. One day a certain monk having doubled his diligence at work, and made two mats instead of one, set them where St. Pachomius might see them. The saint perceiving the snare, said, "This brother hath taken a great deal of pains from morning till night, to give his work to the devil." And, to cure his vanity by humiliations, he enjoined him, by way of penance, to keep his cell fire months, with no other allowance than a little bread, salt, and water. A young man named Sylvanus; who had been an actor on the stage, entered the monastery of St. Pachomius with the view of doing penance, but led for some time an undisciplined life, often transgressing the rules of the house, and still fond of entertaining himself and others with buffooneries. The man of God endeavored to make him sensible of his danger by charitable remonstrances, and also employed his more potent arms of prayer, sighs, and tears, for his poor soul. Though for some time he found his endeavors fruitless, he did not desist on that account; and having one day represented to this impenitent sinner, in a very pathetic manner, the dreadful judgments which threaten those that mock God, the divine grace touching the heart of Sylvanus, he from that moment began, to lead a life of great edification to the rest of the brethren; and being moved with the most feeling sentiments of compunction, he never failed, wheresoever he was, and howsoever employed, to bewail with bitterness his past misdemeanors. When others entreated him to moderate the floods of his tears, "Ah," said he, "how can I help weeping, when I consider the wretchedness of my past life, and that by my sloth I have profaned what was most sacred? I have reason to fear lest the earth should open under my feet, and swallow me up, as it did Dathan and Abiron. Oh! suffer me to labor with ever-flowing fountains of tears, to expiate my innumerable sins. I ought, if I could, even to pour forth this wretched soul of mine in mourning; it would be all too little for my offences." In these sentiments of contrition he made so "real progress in virtue, that the holy abbot proposed him as a model of humility to the rest; and when, after eight years spent in this penitential course, God had called him to himself by a holy death, St. Pachomius was assured by a revelation, that his soul was presented by angels a most agreeable sacrifice to Christ. The saint was favored with a spirit of prophecy, and with great grief foretold the decay of monastic fervor in his order in succeeding ages. In 348 he was cited before a council of bishops at Latopolis, to answer certain matters laid to his charge. He justified himself against the calumniators, but in such a manner that the whole council admired his extraordinary humility. The same year, God afflicted his monasteries with a pestilence, which swept off a hundred monks. The saint himself fell sick, and during forty days suffered a painful distemper with incredible patience and cheerfulness, discovering a great interior joy at the approach of the end of his earthly pilgrimage. In his last moments he exhorted his monks to fervor, and having armed himself with the sign of the cross, resigned his happy soul into the hands of his Creator in the fifty-seventh year of his age. He lived to see in his different monasteries seven thousand monks. His order subsisted in the cast till the eleventh century: for Anselm, bishop of Havelburgh, writes, that he saw five hundred monks of this institute in a monastery at Constantinople. St. Pachomius formed his disciples to so eminent a degree of perfection chiefly by his own fervent spirit and example; for he always appeared the first, the most exact, and the most fervent, in all the exercises of the community. To the fervor and watchfulness of the superior it was owing that in so numerous a community discipline was observed with astonishing regularity, as Palladius and Cassian observe. The former says that they ate with their cowl drawn so as to hide the greatest part of their faces, and with their eyes cast down, never looking at one another. Many contented themselves with taking a very few mouthfuls of bread and oil, or of such like dish; others of pottage only. So great was the silence that reigned among them while every one followed his employment, that in the midst of so great a multitude; a person seemed to be in a solitude. Cassian tells us, that the more numerous the monastery was, the more perfect and rigorous was regular observance of discipline, and all constantly obeyed their superior more readily than a single person is found to do in other places. Nothing so much weakens the fervor of inferiors as the example of a superior who easily allows himself exemptions or dispensations in the rule. The relaxation of monastic discipline is often owing to no other cause.

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[personaltrainingcertificat-blog3]

Is Online Personal Training For You?

The World Wide Web, where will we be without it now? Throughout the rising use of net and more lately, social media websites, those most people must have nowadays. Online training is now a highly common means to get fit, and shortly to become a whole lot more popular in my humble view. Many coaches and virtual applications offer you many selections for example: Tailored fitness applications for your particular objectives, competition preparation training, and above all nutritional advice. These are a few reason why online training is now an attractive alternative over real one-on-one private training at a practical environment. Another few legitimate reasons I could include are time limitations and geographical restrictions. Not everybody has enough time to specify a period and meet with a coach three or four occasions throughout the week, and the majority of individuals aren't likely to drive quite a way to meet up with a coach. Additionally with an internet coach you've got only about 24 hour accessibility to communicate through telephone or email if you've any queries or concerns. Why not have a customized program to trace in case you've got time and not have the ability to opt for any coach on earth?

So much online training looks like a win-win scenario, right? Well, with no fantastic utility support, there are always advantages and pitfalls, nothing is perfect. During this article I will attempt to clarify either side by providing recommendations and guidance for both coaches and clients to boost their experience of internet training without being prejudice. First of all, online coaching has come to be a highly effective tool in supplying services to a wide audience however, the expansion has stalled competition among coaches in commercial fitness centers that are fighting to stand out. My very first Issue with internet instruction is that the source and authenticity of a fitness expert. There is no true substitute for fulfilling a fitness expert in person, making that connection together, and seeing them in action along with different customers. There are several distinct certifications on the market, many are extremely untrue and well admired, although some aren't. Pretty much anybody can become a coach nowadays or state they're a coach to create a fast buck. Just just how do you expect someone online? You should do your research when picking an internet coach, assess their authenticity together with their sites credibility and go with your gut feeling. I'll delve into this a little more in the future.

My very first issue with conventional private trainers who train in commercial health clubs is the lack of involvement and knowledge of customers. Most of us know so as to function as a trainer in a health club, you need to be a Certified Personal Trainer, and after more anybody can get accredited. My point is simply because you've got a couple of unique certificates and a degree in Kinesiology does not necessarily indicate they're a terrific trainer. I visit trainer's regular where I work outside, a few are good and I can tell they care of their customer's success. However, most different coaches amaze me with their lack of comprehension, exercise choices, stupidity, and lack of strength when coaching customers. Nearly all the time these coaches are counting repetitions for you while texting in their telephones or merely jibber jabbering together with the customer or other people they know. Many coaches are merely in it for the cash and wish to receive their customers during their sessions as quickly as possible with very little battle. I call them"Text Book Trainers" since they're constantly going by the publication and accountability issues; lots of coaches underestimate their customer's skills. A couple different coaches once explained that so long as you throw big scientific words to customers they will not wonder you and they'll think you are the ideal. Another coach said he wishes to become "Guru!" Lol. Incredible! How do someone wish to have the answers to what and need reputation of being a professional? Last but not least, most coaches at gyms don't instruct clients about appropriate nutrition and don't devise personalized nutrition plans for their clientele. They probably let you adhere to exactly the bullshit"Food Pyramid" recommendations our corrupt FDA so kindly provides us . I am not being a coach in a commercial health club is poor, if this is your aim to work for somebody else, then by all means do this. Just enjoy assisting your customers achieve their goals by teaching them correctly and most importantly really place them via a legit exercise. For customers, know about these sorts of coaches and fitness center, they just need to offer you training packages to meet their daily objectives.

I understand many may believe online instruction is a scam, however, let us consider a few benefits and disadvantages this exceptional method can provide, giving you the opportunity to find out if online training is right for you or not. Having a mean private training session costing approximately $60, and of course that the true gym initiation fees and traveling cost, the price of one-on-one coaching may soon damage your wallet. A lot of men and women are intimidated to visit gyms due to a lot of muscular and athletic folks, overwhelming gear, and only overall an excessive amount of chaos happening. Well online instruction delivers the opportunity to satisfy your targets without feeling ashamed or uneasy. Flexibility may also be a massive benefit, meaning online instruction could be achieved with no established routine or schedule. Though this might be a drawback if the customer lacks motivation, responsibility, and subject to stay consistent with the app that you assign them. This is because of them needing a physical existence there together and directing them throughout the work out. Also online coaches can't necessarily gauge your progress and really watch your position when performing particular workouts, which may really frustrate a possible customer and potentially cause worse problems.

There are larger questions to tackle with internet training which could place the coach and the customer at a prospective risk. The 3 essential components of private training include: An initial appraisal, detecting the customers instruction, and providing important feedback to guarantee progress. These procedures are seriously compromised through internet training. In the event you choose to select an internet trainer, be certain that the coach has a comparable protocol evaluation as a real trainer in a gym could. I strongly suggest a telephone appointment prior to committing, consider the as a first screening procedure and you really can get a sense of the coach to find out whether you really do need to use her or him.

While purchasing training bundles at a fitness center, you're exposed to a waiver, so eliminating all accountability from the club in addition to the coach nearly all the moment. With online training, there are frequently instances no legal or waiver arrangements supplied. I can not stress this enough to make certain if you do proceed with an internet coach they do possess a release of liability waiver. Which brings me to my second stage, what about the legalities of online personal instruction? Imagine if the customer were to get hurt while using the schedule you provided and you're in another state or county? Which are the legal obligations then? Well, an authorized arrangement could be dealt between the coach and customer by two manners: legitimate contract and legitimate contacts. A legal contract is a signed agreement agreeing with conditions and terms of online training and also the commitment between both parties. A legal contact proves there is a sensible quantity of contact between the customer and coach over and over the click of a button to buy a training regime. To guarantee the very best support, a telephone consultation or skype ought to be installed, together with a printed contract ought to be sent to sign and get back to the appropriate address.

[shenzhenblog]

This is your most precious asset at work

As I am Italian, let me invite you to an Opera: Il Barbiere di Siviglia, which was performed for the first time exactly 200 years ago in 1816, by Gioacchino Rossini. Halfway thought the opera you will hear Don Basilio singing the famous “La calunnia e’ un venticello,” or “Calumny is a little breeze”.

Calumny is a little breeze,

A gentle zephyr,

which insensibly, subtly,

lightly and sweetly,

commences to whisper.

Softly softly, here and there,

sottovoce, sibilant,

it goes gliding, it goes rambling.

Into the ears of the people,

it penetrates slyly

and the head and the brains

it stuns and it swells.

From the mouth re-emerging

the noise grows crescendo,

gathers force little by little,

runs its course from place to place,

seems the thunder of the tempest

which from the depths of the forest

comes whistling, muttering,

freezing everyone in horror.

Finally with crack and crash,

it spreads afield, its force redoubled,

and produces an explosion

like the outburst of a cannon,

an earthquake, a whirlwind,

a general uproar,

which makes the air resound.

And the poor slandered wretch,

vilified, trampled down,

sunk beneath the public lash,

by good fortune, falls to death.

Even without the melodrama of opera, the idea of losing our reputation is a terrifying prospect. So, how can we avoid calumny in our careers and protect the most precious asset we have? Let me share a few examples, so that you can consider what you would do if you found yourself in these situations.

• You are a senior accountant in a prestigious company and you are instructed to carry out a review for a pharmaceutical company, which is a very important customer. In the analysis, you find that your client company has accounted for more than 2 million euros on expired drugs and medicines; if you remove the value of the expired medicines it would mean that your client would suffer a financial loss. You share this information with your supervisor, who tells us to give up because “our company cannot afford to lose a client like them”. The same evening, the client invites you to dinner, they order food and expensive wines and give you an expensive golden pen, counting on your “discreet collaboration”.

• You work in the legal department, and you find that the procurement and contract for a very important assignment has been won by a company whose owner is a close relative of the President.

• You organize a training course in a foreign country, with about 120 participants coming from all over the world. The teaching material that you sent has been stopped at the border for no reason. They inform you that “difficult customs practices can only be resolved in if we make a cash payment today of $ 5,000,” otherwise you will be obliged to cancel the course.

• One of your colleagues has written a book and is ordering 300 copies at the company’s expense, to be distributed as teaching material in a course organized by him.

• You find that the IT system of your company has been encrypted. You inform your boss and he asks you not to tell anyone, adding that next week he will have to decide about your promotion.

• You are a doctor. A well-known pharmaceutical company invites you on a cruise to the Caribbean, as long as your prescriptions only recommend their products.

• You need to recruit several senior staff. A search firm contacts you offering an amount equal to six months of your salary if you assign the lucrative task to them.

• An employee sends a medical certificate for three months, from June to September. By total coincidence you meet him in late July in the tourist village where you realize that he’s working as swimming instructor. The employee, a close relative of the resort manager, offers you a free holiday, as long as you keep quiet about meeting him.

• You represent your company for a major contract. A person from the competitor company offers you a brand new car if you offer your products at a certain price, too high to win the contract.

• You learn that a very senior person in your organization is using people in his team for business not related to his position, while another one has recruited a close family member. Both people are very influential and could derail your career.

So, what would you do if you found yourself in similar situations?

The point is that you will face choices that will force you to choose between sticking to your ethical values or stipulating a pact with the devil; some obvious, other less so. But there is no half-way house here. In my 25-year career I have seen many decent people who have signed a Mephistolian pact. They may survive today, but in the long run they end up disappearing in the darkness Don Giovanni’s Mozart.

Aren’t we enjoying a long night at the Opera?

  Note : This article was originally published on https://www.weforum.org

Paolo Gallo

Over the last 30 years, Paolo Gallo has been Chief Human Resources Officer at the World Economic Forum in Geneva; Chief Learning Officer at The World Bank in Washington DC; and Director of Human Resources at the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development in London.

This is your most precious asset at work was originally published on Shenzhen Blog

[prixmiumarchive]

Working and Brainwashing

When I first started my teaching job, I would often feel like I was sleep-walking through life or struggling with being alert enough during certain times of the day, but I had almost learned to cope with 6 or 7 hours of sleep. I would come home and nap and get up and have a few hours of something like a game or media consumption or talking to people online and the occasional deliberate inclusion of exercise. Lately, though, I will come home on half or more of my workdays and go to bed for what feels like it might be a nap only to find that I am sleeping through until morning. Sometimes, I manage to get up for an hour to 90 minutes to shower, medicate, etc. However, sometimes this excessive sleeping (10-12 hours) causes me to miss medicating. Usually if I wake up briefly in the span between midnight and three in the morning, I’ll still medicate, but if it waits until I am getting ready for work I will invariably forget even if I could squeeze in two doses in a day that way.

Last night felt like a new low with this problem. I think I went to lie down around 6:30 and intended to wake up sometime around 8:30 or 9:00 to have a few moments of interaction. I didn’t wake up until 11:00 when I blearily checked in with my best friend via my phone. It was a kind of perfunctory action of my trying to cling to consciousness. Lately, she has become somewhat accustomed to my falling asleep on her and will sometimes believe I have done so when I haven’t. That was rarely the case before, and it makes me feel terrible. It makes me feel bad for the way it must seem to her. It also makes me feel bad for myself because I can’t talk to anyone for any sustained length of time. I fall asleep or otherwise am occupied. I’m lucky if I manage to talk to my mom on the phone for fifteen minutes a day (even though I live with my parents) or my dad over dinner or something. Then I’m out. Tonight I’m awake, and I’m not sure why that is except perhaps adrenaline from the kind of day I’ve had or the later than usual administration of caffeine (even if in a fairly low amount). Last night, I didn’t wash my makeup off. Last night, I didn’t wake up to shower or medicate. I just kept lying there through until 6:15 this morning. Then I rushed and rushed and had to change my mind about what I was wearing several times because getting dressed in warm weather sucks. I usually also pick out my clothes at night, too, at least within a framework of two options, but last night I did none of those things. And the stress of it just sucks.

This morning, I was a mess and rushed. I ended up having cross words with my dad, and it was sort of mutually to blame and blew over, but between that, lack of meds, hormones, etc., I left the house crying this morning. This left a mark all day long in terms of the puffy feeling in my eye area and the sense of a curtain of exhaustion draped over me. All these circumstances just added to my sense of being trapped in my job and in my life with nothing really to make it any better. The ONLY thing that’s any fun on those sleeping like a bear days is food, and that going to sleep with a full stomach thing is exactly how I gained weight that I hate and which is bad for my blood pressure and feet and stuff in the first place. No fat-shaming here, just a personal body dimension comfort thing, and I hate this feeling.

On top of everything else, my phone fell under the seat in my car this morning, and it was missing all day. I actually get no signal in my classroom for the data network, even though phone and text mostly work, so this adds to my isolation even when I might get a couple of moments when it MIGHT be appropriate to check in with the outside world. That’s frowned upon for teachers to do at work even when not on-duty with students, but everyone needs SOME contact with a life beyond their job, and I usually have none.

It’s a story for another day, but I also had a confrontation with a violently racist student of mine today, but anyway.

My blood pressure is high. I sleep all the time, but I’m always tired. I had started to exercise but summer SAD and this exhaustion thing are slowing that down majorly. I don’t even always get to talk to my parents or pet my dog whom I live with now. I rarely carry out a full conversation with a friend or peer that isn’t through the filter of coworker relationship. Even those I feel like I’m falling down on lately.

And I’m just beyond tired of it.

In the few spare moments of brainpower I have, usually when actively falling asleep or when driving, I have been listening to the “Cults” podcast by the Parcast Network. It was recommended from a number of different sources and I’ve been trying to let the “Myths and Legends” back catalog catch up a little because I was finally within a few episodes of caught up. I listen to podcasts because sometimes I can’t even manage to stay awake or use my eyes to watch an episode of something. I turn on my sleep timer app on my phone and listen to people talk for a while, just to feel less alone.

On the Cults podcast, they talk about the psychology behind cult leaders and followers each week. They aren’t psychologists or psychiatrists but they do research and have had some done for them. So anyway, this is all with a grain of salt, but because listening to this is one of my only outside-work sources of human voice or thought, it has been floating around my mind -- perhaps a little too much. It occurs to me that the way I have been treated at my job is not entirely unlike the kind of tactics used by cult leaders to brainwash their followers. This sounds hyperbolic and crazy, I know. I also know that some of it might be less that I was “treated like that” and more that I “understood an expectation and did my best to meet it in spite of not wanting to or not explicitly being required to by contract or law.”

However, I work at a rural high school of about 650 students. I work in a place about 45 minutes from my home at a fast clip down the interstate. It is out in farmland. Driving 45 minutes to work is kind of gross and a bit worse than less-than-ideal, but I would mind it less if the trek wasn’t out into the middle of nowhere. See above-mentioned racist student reference for one of the reasons why. However, there is a certain three-city-and-surrounding-area radius that I have grown up in and which, while nowhere close to a “major city” status in any one place, hosts enough diversity and interest to at least not be utterly soul-sucking for a young person. However, the place where I’m working is centered around another, much smaller, much more homogeneous city, and it shows.

(I’m considering getting a new job next year.)

But back to the brainwashing thing. Working in that small environment, there is quite a bit of understaffing. There is also an understaffing problem because the school board and other powers that be have no intention of replacing vacated positions unless it is absolutely necessary because they are banking on eventual consolidation of the county’s four high schools which incentivizes them eliminating positions through attrition, whether consolidation ever happens or not. This means that the understaffed nature of everything starts being taken on as a badge of honor.

“All hands on deck!” “Let’s finish strong!” “It’s time to get that second-wind!” “Protect your instructional time; teach bell-to-bell, even now that testing is over.” All these things are included in at least weekly emails from the assistant principal who seems to be the primary cheerleader and bad-cop in any situation there. In and of itself “all hands on deck” sounds positive, but it rubs me the wrong way. It is a pressure to stay after hours. It is a pressure to take on third and fourth extra responsibilities on top of the second that most of us have. It is pressure to take being salaried and getting 8 weeks off a year as a reason to treat it like we need to make up those extra hours during the school year and work-week. One time, when I was in a parent-teacher conference early on, she sort of sprung on me in a comment to the child’s mother, “We expect our teachers to day until at least 4:30 two or three days a week to offer tutoring,” and like, that had been expressed as an OPTION and it is on a rotation where a teacher is OBLIGATED to stay a few times a semester, but the way she phrased it, it was a social requirement and contract for MOST teachers to do this two or three times a WEEK. (My faculty handbook says a teacher shouldn’t leave before 3:15 without exception such as an appointment or such, to show the contrast.)

And so I did it. And so I do it. And so I feel guilty every time I leave before 4:00. And I know that it’s an exaggeration and nonsense and emotional hyperbole, but sometimes i feel like I have been deliberately isolated, overworked, exhausted, and treated to a never-ending indoctrination of various mantras about my chosen profession to a point that I am losing touch with my friends, my family, my hobbies, my prayer life and other aspects of my faith, writing, exercising, and anything else about my life that makes it meaningful other than food which, given the absence of those other aspects of life, is as much a health hazard as a comfort.

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A Missouri instructor is under fire for turning off the White Residence during a journey to DC with a team of middle-school pupils-- and afterwards gluing the picture on social media, according to reports. In order to earn credit scores each participant of the team will certainly need to take part in the discussion of the remedy and each participant will certainly need to contribute to the solution. Educators aged 60 with Three Decade of service or aged 62 with at the very least 1 year of service are likewise eligible for typical retirement benefits. For CELTA/CertTESOL certified educators think about elevating your salary with additional qualifications. You're best that most educators do place in a great deal of hrs beyond their contracted time. RYS means Registered Yoga College that indicates they are able to make you an RYT (Registered Yoga Instructor) under Yoga Alliance. Being a teacher is an opportunity to find out more points, teach from just what you are, search from your expertise not from guide, due to the fact that book is a 2nd resource of learning ... All the teachers all over the world, BE STRONG SUFFICIENT TO CONTINUE YOUR UNCONDITIONAL FUNCTION TO SERVE OTHERS!!! MAY THE GOD HONORS YOUR FAITHFUL HEART!! I don't mind to work additional time to prepare mi lesson, however educators aren't getting paid for remaining in college long hours preparing just for the monitoring as well as needs. Directly I see nothing incorrect with an educator hugging a kid, some of the poor little kids prob don't get one in your home as well as to be honest today's over the leading reaction just makes me ill. The even more financial assistance choices the institution provides, from government funding to private gives, the more recognized the institution remains in the outside world. Trainees have four days of different types with the pattern they're working on, and also on the 5th day I give students the next team of words. By beginning your own home tutoring business, you end up being a tutor broker, where you handle a network of expert educators and teachers, matching them with pupils seeking one-on-one at home tutoring. As an educator now, I was experiencing initial hand the pressures and battles my too young to be worried pupils were experiencing. Questions additionally connect your desire to find out the subject and shows your instructor that you want the product. If you get this free eBook to get a Georgia Educator HUD home, this will certainly not be necessary. Ramifications for policy and also method are gone over, as is the opportunity of minimizing the gap via educator education.

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History of St. Pachomius a Bishop who Founded Communal Monasticism

Though St. Antony be justly esteemed the institutor of the cenobitic life, or that of religious persons living in community under a certain rule, St. Pachomius was the first who drew up a monastic rule in writing. He was born in Upper Thebais about the year 292, of idolatrous parents, and was educated in their blind superstition, and in the study of the Egyptian sciences. From his infancy, he was meek and modest, and had an aversion to the profane ceremonies used by the infidels in the worship of their idols. Being about twenty years of age, he was pressed into the emperor's troops, probably the tyrant Maximinus, who was master of Egypt from the year 310; and in 312 made great levies to carry on a war against Licinius and Constantine. He was, with several other recruits, put on board a vessel that was falling down the river. They arrived in the evening at Thebes, or Diospolis, the capital of Thebais, a city in which dwelt many Christians. Those true disciples of Christ sought every  opportunity of relieving and comforting all that were in distress, and were moved with compassion towards the recruits, who were kept close confined, and very ill-treated. The Christians of this city showed them the same tenderness as if they had been their own children; took all possible care of them, and supplied them liberally with money and necessaries.

Such an uncommon example of disinterested virtue made a great impression on the mind of Pachomius. He inquired who their pious benefactors were, and when he heard that they believed in Jesus Christ the only Son of God, and that in the hope of a reward in the world to come, they labored continually to do good to all mankind, he found kindled in his heart a great love of so holy a law, and an ardent desire of serving the God whom these good men adored. The next day, when he was continuing his journey down the river, the remembrance of this purpose strengthened him to resist a carnal temptation. From his infancy he had been always a lover of chastity and temperance but the example of the Christians had made those virtues appear to him far more amiable, and in a new light.

After the overthrow of Maximinus, his forces were disbanded. Pachomius was no sooner returned home, but he repaired to a town in Thebais, in which there was a Christian church, and there he entered his name among the catechumens, or such as were preparing for baptism; and having gone through the usual course of preliminary instructions and practices with great attention and fervor, he received that sacrament at Chenoboscium, with great sentiments of piety and devotion. From his first acquaintance with our holy faith at Thebes, he had always made this his prayer: "O God, Creator of heaven and earth, cast on me an eye of pity: deliver me from my miseries: teach me the true way of pleasing you, and it shall be the whole employment, and most earnest study of my life to serve you, and to do your will." The perfect sacrifice of his heart to God, was the beginning of his eminent virtue. The grace by which God reigns in a soul, is a treasure infinitely above all price. We must give all to purchase it. To desire it faintly is to undervalue it. He is absolutely disqualified and unfit for so great a blessing, and unworthy ever to receive it, who seeks it by halves, or who does not esteem all other things as dung that he may gain Christ.

When Pachomius was baptized, he began seriously to consider with himself how he should most faithfully fulfil the obligations which he had contracted, and attain to the great end to which he aspired. There is danger even in fervor itself. It is often an artifice of the devil to make a novice undertake too much at first, and run indiscreetly beyond his strength. If the sails gather too much wind, the vessel is driven ahead, falls on some rock and splits. Eagerness is a symptom of secret passion, not of true virtue, where it is wilful and impatient at advice. Pachomius was far from so dangerous a disposition, because his desire was pure, therefore his first care was to find a skilful conductor.

Hearing that a venerable old man named Palemon, served God in the desert in great perfection, he sought him out, and with great earnestness begged to live under his direction. The hermit having set before him the difficulties and austerities of his way of life, which several had already attempted in vain to follow, advised him to make a trial of his strength and fervor in some monastery; and, to give him a sketch of the difficulties he had to encounter in the life he aspired to, he added: "Consider, my son, that my diet is only bread and salt: I drink no wine, use no oil, watch one half of the night, spending that time in singing psalms or in meditating on the holy scriptures, and sometimes pass the whole night without sleeping." Pachomius was amazed at this account, but not discouraged. He thought himself able to undertake every thing that might be a means to render his soul pleasing to God, and readily promised to observe whatever Palemon should think fit to enjoin him; who thereupon admitted him into his cell, and gave him the monastic habit. Pachomius was by his example enabled to bear solitude, and an acquaintance with himself. They sometimes repeated together the psalter, at other times they exercised themselves in manual labors (which they accompanied with interior prayer,) with a view to their own subsistence and the relief of the poor. Pachomius prayed above all things, for perfect purity of heart, that being disengaged from all secret attachment to creatures, he might love God with all his affections. And to destroy the very roots of all inordinate passions, it was his first study to obtain the most profound humility, and perfect patience and meekness. He prayed often with his arms stretched out in the form of a cross; which posture was then much used in the church. He was in the beginning often drowsy at the night office. Palemon used to rouse him, and say: "Labor and watch, my dear Pachomius, lest the enemy overthrow you and ruin all your endeavors." Against this weakness and temptation he enjoined him, on such occasions, to carry sand from one place to another, till his drowsiness was overcome. By this means the novice strengthened himself in the habit of watching. Whatever instructions he read or heard, he immediately endeavored fervently to reduce to practice.

One Easter-day Palemon bade the disciple prepare a dinner for that great festival. Pachomius took a little oil, and mixed it with the salt, which he pounded small, and added a few wild herbs, which they were to eat with their bread. The holy old man having made his prayer, came to table; but at the sight of the oil he struck himself on the forehead, and said, with tears: "My Saviour was crucified, and shall I indulge myself so far as to eat oil?" Nor could he be prevailed upon to taste it.

Pachomius used sometimes to go into a vast uninhabited desert, on the banks of the Nile, called Tabenna, in the diocese of Tentyra, a city between the Great and Little Diospolis. While he was there one day in prayer, he heard a voice which commanded him to build a monastery in that place, in which he should receive those who should be sent by God to serve him faithfully. He received, about the same time, from an angel who appeared to him, certain instructions relating to a monastic life.. Pachomius going back to Palemon, imparted to him this vision; and both of them coming to Tabenna, built there a little cell towards the year 325, about twenty years after St. Antony had founded his first monastery. After a short time, Palemon returned to his former dwelling, having promised his disciple a yearly visit, but he died soon after, and is honored in the Roman Martyrology on the 11th of January.

Pachomius received first his own eldest brother John, and after his death many others, so that he enlarged his house; and the number of his monks in a short time amounted to a hundred. Their clothing was of rough linen; that of St. Pachomius himself often haircloth. He passed fifteen years without ever lying down, taking his short rest sitting on a stone. He even grudged himself the least time which he allowed to necessary sleep, because he wished he could have been able to employ all his moments in the actual exercises of divine love. From the time of his conversion he never ate a full meal. By his rule, the fasts and tasks of work were proportioned to every one's strength; though all are together in one common refectory, in silence, with their cowl or hood drawn over their heads, that they might not see one another at their meals. Their habit was a tunic of white linen without sleeves, with a cowl of the same stuff; they wore on their shoulders a white goatskin, called a Melotes. They received the holy communion on the first and last days of every week. Novices were tried with great severity before they were admitted to the habit, the taking of which was then deemed the monastic profession, and attended with the vows. St. Pachomius preferred none of his monks to holy orders, and his monasteries were often served by priests from abroad, though he admitted priests, when any presented themselves, to the habit, and he employed them in  the functions of their ministry. All his monks were occupied in various kinds of manual labor: no moment was allowed for idleness. The saint, with the greatest care, comforted and served the sick himself. Silence was so strictly observed at Tabenna, that a monk, who wanted any thing necessary, was only to ask for it by signs. In going from one place to another, the monks were ordered always to meditate on some passage of the holy scripture, and sing psalms at their work. The sacrifice of the mass was offered for every monk that died, as we read in the life of St. Pachomius. His rule was translated into Latin by St. Jerome, and is still extant. He received the sickly and weak, rejecting none for the want of corporal strength, being desirous to conduct to heaven all souls which had fervor to walk in the paths of perfection. He built six other monasteries in Thebias, not far asunder, and from the year 336, chose often to reside in that of Pabau, or Pau, near Thebes, in its territory, though not far from Tabenna, situated in the neighboring province of Diospolis, also in Thebais. Pabau became a more numerous and more famous monastery than Tabenna itself. By the advice of Serapion, bishop of Tentyra, he built a church in a village for the benefit of the poor shepherds, in which for some time he performed the office of Lector, reading to the people the word of God with admirable fervor; in which function he appeared rather like an angel than a man. He converted many infidels, and zealously opposed the Arians, but could never be induced by his bishop to receive the holy order of priesthood. In 333, he was favored with a visit of St. Athanasius at Tabenna. His sister, at a certain time, came to his monastery desiring to see him; but he sent her word at the gate, that no woman could be allowed to enter his enclosure, and that she ought to be satisfied with hearing that he was alive. However, it being her desire to embrace a religious state, he built her a nunnery on the other side of the Nile, which was soon filled with holy virgins. St. Pachomius going one day to Pane, one of his monasteries, met the funeral procession of a tepid monk deceased. Knowing the wretched state in which he died and to strike a terror into the slothful, he forbade his monks to proceed in singing psalms, and ordered the clothes which covered the corpse to be burnt, saying: "Honors could only increase his torments; but the ignominy with which his body was treated, might move God to show more mercy to his soul; for God forgives some sins not only in this world, but also in the next." When the procurator of the house had sold the mats at market at a higher price than the saint had bid him, he ordered him to carry back the money to the buyers, and chastised him for his avarice.

Among many miracles wrought by him, the author of his life assures us, that though he had never learned the Greek or Latin tongues, he sometimes miraculously spoke them; he cured the sick and persons possessed by devils with blessed oil. But he often told sick or distressed persons, that their sickness or affliction was an effect of the divine goodness in their behalf; and he only prayed for their temporal comfort, with this clause or condition, if it should not prove hurtful to their souls. His dearest disciple, St. Theodorus, who after his death succeeded him in the government of his monasteries, was afflicted with a perpetual headache. St. Pachomius, when desired by some of the brethren to pray for his health, answered: "Though abstinence and prayer be of great merit, yet sickness, suffered with patience, is of much greater." He chiefly begged of God the spiritual health of the souls of his disciples and others, and took every opportunity to curb and heal their passions, especially that of pride. One day a certain monk having doubled his diligence at work, and made two mats instead of one, set them where St. Pachomius might see them. The saint perceiving the snare, said, "This brother hath taken a great deal of pains from morning till night, to give his work to the devil." And, to cure his vanity by humiliations, he enjoined him, by way of penance, to keep his cell fire months, with no other allowance than a little bread, salt, and water. A young man named Sylvanus; who had been an actor on the stage, entered the monastery of St. Pachomius with the view of doing penance, but led for some time an undisciplined life, often transgressing the rules of the house, and still fond of entertaining himself and others with buffooneries. The man of God endeavored to make him sensible of his danger by charitable remonstrances, and also employed his more potent arms of prayer, sighs, and tears, for his poor soul. Though for some time he found his endeavors fruitless, he did not desist on that account; and having one day represented to this impenitent sinner, in a very pathetic manner, the dreadful judgments which threaten those that mock God, the divine grace touching the heart of Sylvanus, he from that moment began, to lead a life of great edification to the rest of the brethren; and being moved with the most feeling sentiments of compunction, he never failed, wheresoever he was, and howsoever employed, to bewail with bitterness his past misdemeanors. When others entreated him to moderate the floods of his tears, "Ah," said he, "how can I help weeping, when I consider the wretchedness of my past life, and that by my sloth I have profaned what was most sacred? I have reason to fear lest the earth should open under my feet, and swallow me up, as it did Dathan and Abiron. Oh! suffer me to labor with ever-flowing fountains of tears, to expiate my innumerable sins. I ought, if I could, even to pour forth this wretched soul of mine in mourning; it would be all too little for my offences." In these sentiments of contrition he made so "real progress in virtue, that the holy abbot proposed him as a model of humility to the rest; and when, after eight years spent in this penitential course, God had called him to himself by a holy death, St. Pachomius was assured by a revelation, that his soul was presented by angels a most agreeable sacrifice to Christ. The saint was favored with a spirit of prophecy, and with great grief foretold the decay of monastic fervor in his order in succeeding ages. In 348 he was cited before a council of bishops at Latopolis, to answer certain matters laid to his charge. He justified himself against the calumniators, but in such a manner that the whole council admired his extraordinary humility. The same year, God afflicted his monasteries with a pestilence, which swept off a hundred monks. The saint himself fell sick, and during forty days suffered a painful distemper with incredible patience and cheerfulness, discovering a great interior joy at the approach of the end of his earthly pilgrimage. In his last moments he exhorted his monks to fervor, and having armed himself with the sign of the cross, resigned his happy soul into the hands of his Creator in the fifty-seventh year of his age. He lived to see in his different monasteries seven thousand monks. His order subsisted in the cast till the eleventh century: for Anselm, bishop of Havelburgh, writes, that he saw five hundred monks of this institute in a monastery at Constantinople. St. Pachomius formed his disciples to so eminent a degree of perfection chiefly by his own fervent spirit and example; for he always appeared the first, the most exact, and the most fervent, in all the exercises of the community. To the fervor and watchfulness of the superior it was owing that in so numerous a community discipline was observed with astonishing regularity, as Palladius and Cassian observe. The former says that they ate with their cowl drawn so as to hide the greatest part of their faces, and with their eyes cast down, never looking at one another. Many contented themselves with taking a very few mouthfuls of bread and oil, or of such like dish; others of pottage only. So great was the silence that reigned among them while every one followed his employment, that in the midst of so great a multitude; a person seemed to be in a solitude. Cassian tells us, that the more numerous the monastery was, the more perfect and rigorous was regular observance of discipline, and all constantly obeyed their superior more readily than a single person is found to do in other places. Nothing so much weakens the fervor of inferiors as the example of a superior who easily allows himself exemptions or dispensations in the rule. The relaxation of monastic discipline is often owing to no other cause.

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